Category Archives: Freight Car Kits

A tribute to Bill Welch

George Toman sent this along as a fine tribute to a man who inspire so many of us to push our modeling further.

My good friend Bill Welch received bad news in September 2020 when he was diagnosed with pancreatic and liver cancer. During this period, I kept in close contact with him and we discussed many things about modeling, world events, and his beloved Dodgers. Bill was always challenging me to raise the bar and try new methods, tools, and materials.

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Building the RCW Illinois Central boxcar mini-kit

John Golden, currently living in Ramstein, Germany, recently completed his Resin Car Works Illinois Central single-sheathed boxcar mini-kit. Here are John’s notes.

I just completed my Resin Car Works’ Mini-kit 3.01, Illinois Central single-sheathed box car.  This model has been featured twice on the RCW blog. First was with the mini-kit introduction and Lester Breuer’s model instructions, which you can access on the kit extras page. The instructions include all the prototype information gathered on the car by the RCW minions. Later, George Toman followed up with his excellent February 2020 post.  

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Southern Railway Pulpwood Racks

Southern Railway photo courtesy of Southern Railway Historical Society (SRHA)

Fenton Wells has built several pulpwood flat cars that reflect Southern Railway prototypes. He sent his prototype details and model building tips to share with blog readers.

Pulp and paper products were always major commodities for the Southern Railway. Their biggest customer was Champion paper in Canton, North Carolina, on the old Murphy Branch. Many loads of pulpwood and coal were delivered with finished paper products shipping out.

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Another take on the RPM Chicagoland IC mini-kit

George Toman wrapped up an Illinois Central HO scale boxcar and filed a report. George started with a mini-kit that was given to many RPM Chicagoland registrants. The parts are seen in the lead image. Here’s George with the details.

Each year at the RPM Chicagoland meet the first 100 registrants receive a mini-kit gift. The 2019 mini-kit prototype was an Illinois Central single-sheathed boxcar from the 16000-16975 series. The mini-kit included a set of resin parts and proper decals along with a list of other recommend parts. I always enjoy receiving mine and look forward for ways to improve upon the basic kit and instructions to build a more accurate model.

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